GSK (NYSE:GSK) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

GSK plc (NYSE:GSK) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $37.64, but opened at $39.09. GSK shares last traded at $38.62, with a volume of 1,092,399 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GSK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley started coverage on GSK in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com raised GSK from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $43.25.

GSK Stock Up 3.0 %

The company has a market capitalization of $80.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $37.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.12.

GSK (NYSE:GSK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The pharmaceutical company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.15. GSK had a net margin of 8.13% and a return on equity of 48.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that GSK plc will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

GSK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.3932 per share. This represents a $1.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is an increase from GSK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. GSK’s payout ratio is presently 98.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of GSK. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in GSK by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 604,973 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $24,731,000 after purchasing an additional 53,440 shares during the last quarter. Grimes & Company Inc. acquired a new stake in GSK during the 4th quarter valued at $4,731,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC bought a new position in GSK in the 4th quarter valued at $4,033,000. Kempner Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in GSK by 142.7% in the fourth quarter. Kempner Capital Management Inc. now owns 183,080 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $6,192,000 after purchasing an additional 107,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stockman Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of GSK by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 217,200 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $7,346,000 after buying an additional 7,683 shares in the last quarter. 15.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

GSK Company Profile

GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, and manufacture of vaccines, and specialty and general medicines to prevent and treat disease in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through two segments, Commercial Operations and Total R&D.